Below is the draft Swancon Thirty Six | Natcon Fifty program for Sunday. While we are making every effort to make sure all details are correct, we cannot guarantee that items won’t change. We also have plenty of space for last minute program ideas, so if the mood strikes and you want to organise something, we’ll help provide you with space to do it.

Contact us any time in the lead-up to the convention, or speak to a committee member once you arrive.

Panel Descriptions(This isn’t a complete list yet. If there’s something you want to know more about feel free to email us.)

An appreciation for the abysmal: hilariously bad movies with Tom Eitelhuber, Stephen Griffiths
From nil-budget Z-graders to misdirected Hollywood catastrophes, our panelists reminisce about their favourite cinematic train wrecks — those special failures, so awful that they’re actually quite a lot of fun. Since a video clip is worth 10,000 words, we’ll enhance this discussion with all the visual evidence we can handle.

Art of movie postersPresented by Grant Watson

Book Launch: The Last Days of Kali Yuga by Paul Haines
Brimstone Press is launching Paul Haines’ long-awaited collection, the devastatingly dark The Last Days of Kali Yuga. This collection showcases the best of Haines’ award-winning dark fiction and includes his critically acclaimed stories “Wives”, “Doorways to the Dispossessed”, “Her Collection of Intimacy” and “The Last Days of Kali Yuga”.

Casting your podwith Grant Watson, Kirstyn McDermott, Helen Merrick, Jonathan Strahan
Listening to rants, reviews and dialogues over the net is the cool thing. It’s strong on all subjects and it’s ripe when it comes to fantasy and science fiction in all media and modes. Are they the new fanzine? Can anyone do a podcast? Why yes, but should they, and how?

Clarion callModerator: Kate Eltham. With Ellen Datlow, Robert Hoge, Cat Sparks, Justina Robson
Clarion South is the premier science fiction and fantasy writers’ workshop in Australia. With so many participants of the Clarion workshops, both students and teachers, in one place it is an opportunity not to be missed as they discuss their experiences, how it prepared them as writers and give advice to those thinking of becoming a member of the Clarion alumni.

Classic TVselected by Damien Magee
Screenings of clasic SF TV

Rejuvenation: Doctor Who’s Fourth Seasonwith Damian Magee, Heather Magee, Danny Oz, Colin Sharpe, Grant Watson
By 1966, Doctor Who was already one of Britain’s most popular shows. But behind the scenes, a difficult leading actor provoked one producer to resign, and led his replacement to make one of the most unique creative decisions in television history. Swancon’s longest-running panel team returns for the 19th consecutive year to discuss Doctor Who’s fourth season: a year that included the first change of Doctor, and changes to the series’ format that endure through to the present day. More than a rejuvenation: the story of Season 4 is, in essence, the story of the birth of Doctor Who as we know it today.

Conversation with Artists: themeSarah Xu, Jenna Downing, Christina Lorenz, Kathryn Linge (moderator)
Natcon Fifty is hosting Future Imperfect, a semi-professional art show exploring the ways in which people have historically imagined our present. In this panel, artists featured in the show will discuss the theme and the ways in which they have brought the past and the future together in each piece.

Fairytales in today’s worldwith Angela Slatter, Ellen Datlow, Jenny Blackford, Richard Harland, Amanda Pillar
Fairytales hark back to something not just deep in time but deep in our psyches. The telling of fairytales pulls that deep, and often dark, aspect of ourselves into the light where we can get a glimpse of something that is just as likely to terrify us as delight us. And we can bring it into the here and now, into the modern world. We can tell those tales in modern setting and with modern mindset, but does the fairy in the tale remain that deep and dark creature of our hidden minds?

“Fantasy on TV: Thoughts and predictions about HBO’s forthcoming Game of Thrones”.with Laurie Ormond
HBO, in their ambitious production of George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire”, seem set on redefining the way that fantasy is screened. This panel will be an open-group discussion of our expectations for the brand-new series. Questions we might discuss in this session include:

Do male and female viewers respond or identify differently to the series and its characters?

Will the series challenge, or conform to, popular-culture ideas about the Middle Ages? How do we expect the series to deal with the violence and the sexual violence that runs throughout the book series? In what way does an elaborate, lavishly detailed, extensively choreographed production affect our own personal readings and imaginings of the series?

How do we, as Australians, participate in online and social media discussions of the show given our belated ability to view the episodes? And of course, if we are already fans of the books, how do we stop ourselves from talking too much to our friends who haven’t yet even begun to wonder who Jon Snow’s parents really are? Come along for a spirited discussion.

15 years of Ticonderoga
In 1996, in the course of putting together Swancon 22, Ticonderoga Publications was born. Now one of Australia’s most productive and respected independent publishers, TP editors Russell B Farr and Liz Grzyb will be celebrating 15 years of publishing, recognising all of TP’s many contributors, and launching the press’s 19th and 20th titles, Dead Red Heart and More Scary Kisses. This gathering of Australian SF stars is an event not to be missed.

Film Club: Inception with Tom Eitelhuber, Dave Thatcher
Christopher Nolan’s Inception was one of last year’s most highly lauded feature films, ending the year atop many a critic’s “Best of 2010” list. Whether you loved it, hated it or fall somewhere in between, we invite you to join us for an informal, book club style discussion of the movie.

Freeformby Stefen Brazil
Vampires, castles and political intrigue. Spots are limited, please put your name down at registration desk

Galactic Suburbia live recordingwith Alisa, Alex and Tansy
Bring your breakfast coffee and get warmed up for the day with news, reviews and a feminist rant or two.

History of Natconswith Justin Ackroyd, Robin Johnson, Sally Beasley, Gina Goddard
The history of Natcons is the history of Australian fandom and an interesting ride in the fannish go-cart it has been to get to where we are now. Listen to those who have taken their turns hitching a ride in the Natcon buggy and share your own stories with the rest of us.

How to write fight scenesPresented by Alan Baxter
This is a workshop designed to look at the things that make a fight scene in a story read as realistically as possible, while maintaining excitement and pace. By looking at the various factors that go into a real fight, paying attention to the things that we train for when we learn to fight, we can write fight scenes that stay exciting without
breaking the rules of realism that shatter believability.

Intergalactic Planetary
Four panellists compete to demonstrate superior knowledge, share the most surprising secrets, tell the most cunning lies possible and maybe, just maybe, win some points. Five rounds of entertainment, based on ideas invented at the BBC. If talent borrows, and genius steals, Intergalactic Planetary gets it from the back of a truck — no questions asked.

Living La Vida cyberpunkPresentation by David Cake
The day-to-day reporting from the world of computer security sounds like the stuff of 1980s Cyberpunk novels. Botnets, cyberwarfare, and anonymous internet vigilantes are routine parts of life now.

Modern Manga, Modern Artwith Jon Hayward, Brin McLauchlan, Emily Smith
While the world is embracing the legacy of Osamu Tezuka we are also in a time of some of the most sophisticated of modern manga. This contemproary style, as introduced by Katsuhiro Otomo (”Akira”) and Masamune Shirow (”Ghost in the Shell”), has developed a new standard of comic writing. From individual graphic memoirs to epic sagas dealing with complex themes like Naoki Urasawa’s two master works “20th Century Boys” and “Pluto”. What makes the new manga so important and why should the rest of the world embrace it like classic Tezuka?

Perth Worldconwith PRK, David Cake and Sarah Parker
This is a led discussion to openly debate the pros and cons of a Worldcon in this modest city, and to postulate just how you would go about it, from raising a bid to delivering the final event.

Religion creation in fantasywith Alex Pierce, Jenny Blackford, Juliet Marillier, David McDonald, Satima Flavell (moderator)
It is rare for a fantasy novel to exist in a non-theist world. Indeed, it is the norm that religion, be it magical or philosophical, resides in the universe of the fantasy novel and in most cases it is a creation unique to that world. So how does a writer go about creating a feasible, even believable religion for their character to seek faith in or rally against.

Remembering Eidolonhosted by Sean Williams, with Jonathan Strahan, Jeremy Byrne, Simon Brown, Keira McKenzie, Robin Pen
Twenty-one years ago Eidolon: The Journal of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy was launched and almost immediately became the standard bearer for cutting edge Australian science fiction and fantasy. During its ten years of publication, it established a stronger community of artists, brought Australian writers to the attention of the international scene and was a part of the beginnings of numerous careers. With so many who were involved as editors and contributors all in one place, this seems a fitting opportunity to come to together and appreciate Eidolon’s legacy.

Retro games: nostalgia or new life?with Paul Kidd, Mikey O’Brien
With the arrival of Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition, there has been a sudden explosion of ‘retro’ games on the market. All the old old classics are being cleaned up and offered for sale once more. What’s out there — and why play it? What can a set of rules written in 1974 possibly have that a brand new 2011 game can’t do better? And what the hell is it about the new generation of RPGs that suddenly makes the old style games so damned attractive?

Steampunk style and substancewith Richard Harland, Jeremy Byrne, Lisa Hannett
We know what Steampunk looks like. We know its icons, its images, its paraphernalia, its gadgets, its costumes. But surely there is more to Steampunk than that? Is it a genre unto itself with it’s own tropes and concepts? Or is it simply a use of aesthetics? But if it is, is there anything wrong with that?

UnderCONstruction with Rohan Wallace
UnderCONstruction is a mini metacon — a convention about running a convention. We’re starting as part of Swancon 2011, and we’ll move around Australia over coming years. We’re going to talk about all the stuff that goes into running a successful Australian SF convention, for future, current and past con runners. We want to share what we do well and learn what not to do from those who have done it before. And then of course, write it down so it doesn’t get forgotten.

Writer as business person/writer as entertainerwith Sean Williams, Justina Robson, Juliet Marillier, Simon Brown (moderator)
The writer, though always regarded as a storyteller, often comes from a culture of literature that encourages their portrayal as artists of letters, and that is as it should be. But to have a career as a writer, to make it a way to earn a living requires the storyteller to also be a business person. And not all writers do want to see themselves as artists, but rather as entertainers. Indeed, the goal for almost any writer is to try to be all of the above. How does the writer seek the right balance?

Writing abroadwith Glenda Larke, Kaaron Warren, Simon Brown and Cristy Burne
Living in a place different to one’s homeland could be imagined as living in another world. Panellists discuss the influences on how they perceive their worlds, home or abroad, and any imagined ones.

Writing to historywith Simon Brown, Juliet Marillier, Jenny Blackford, Dave Luckett
Fantasy writers talk about using real history to fuel their stories. Is this an ethical minefield or a fun playground of creative anachronism?